10.01.2012

Squirrels Gond Wild

I have so much to write about all of the sudden! My good friends' wedding and the half marathon are at the top of the list. But first, a note about fall.

The squirrels that live outside of our house have absolutely lost it.

This picture doesn't convey the drama going on. Every morning, we wake up to the sound of large acorns hitting the side of the house, the metal overhang on our porch, and the wall AC unit. It sounds like the squirrels are hurling the biggest nuts they can find at our house, like they're trying to send a message. When we come outside, I often see several waddling off in terror, their mouths as full as possible. Somehow, in the process of stuffing their faces, they have begun to strip branches off the tree - you can see the scattered limbs in the picture. Why is this happening? Are they gnawing on the branches? Our yard is a dangerous place, since you're in danger of being pelted with either a stick or a nut while trying to get from the car to the house.

Meanwhile, inside, we made our first chili of the season, and washed it down with a pumpkin beer and a cheesey-beer biscuit.

John and I have tried a whole bunch of pumpkin beers, and we're quickly learning why so many of our beer aficionado friends are down on them. They can be kind of terrible. But both the Nightmare on Mill Street and the Mill Street October Fest are fine, autumnal beers. They come in a seasonal sampler pack, and we were glad we tried it.

This chili calls for some pumpkin beer, and we used another Ontario pumpkin ale that neither of us liked at all, but the chili still tasted good. You can find the recipe for the chili here: Pumpkin Black Bean Chili, from Veggies by Season.

In a last minute attempt to use up the pumpkin ale that we didn't care for, I did a quick internet search for "Beer cheddar bread" and came up with these biscuits. The only thing I'd change for next time would be to forgo the muffin cups and just butter/flour the pan. They stuck slightly to the paper, but they were light, flakey, and buttery on the inside. John and I tried hard not to inhale these little cheesy bites: Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins, from The Beeroness (a website I think we'll use again).

Happy Fall! Anyone else have a massive squirrels-gone-wild party in your yard?